Easy Rider (1969)

I've heard of Easy Rider, always in reference to its landmark status, its position as a game-changer in Hollywood. It's emblematic of America's counter culture and the film industry's flourishing in the 70s. So, I was very glad to be asked to watch it, though it came at a tragically apt time as Dennis Hopper, director and star, died just the other day.

Along with my other group members, I don't feel it's aged too well. Some of the stylistic tics (the flashing back and forth between scenes) got on my nerves, and as a whole it celebrates a lifestyle which I don't respect. Some of the more improvisational scenes were really dull - it's a top tip not to give your actors marijuana and then let them say what they want.

Still, I felt it had a much stronger drive than M*A*S*H and better photography too. Some of the images were truly beautiful, and I didn't mind the long scenes which were just Steppenwolf music videos. And it gave a window onto American counter culture: from the communes to the way you could be hustled out of a diner because of your long hair. I don't know whether it's true that looking a bit hippy-ish could earn a beating or a bullet to the gut, but it bears more research.

The ending does seem to be a bit of a cop out: everybody dies. But how else do you end it? Either they die young, still riding their awesome bikes and looking cool, or they live for another 40 years, settling down, voting Republican and tutting at teenagers drinking beer until they die from cocaine related cardiac problems. Characters like Captain America and  Billy either die young or live long enough to become the villains. (How did that Dark Knight quote sneak in?)

It did, however, give me a powerful need to get onto my own two-wheeler, possibly to go on a road-trip across Scotland, popping blue smarties and snorting sherbet.